On another forum, this joker said the guy saying this was a "jerk complainer" (A dirty word was actually used.). However, though, I think the bassist for KISS had a point. Without the previous boatloads of money, how can the industry front real talent?
Have music downloads destroyed possible talent?
- Thread starter Jason76
- Start date
It depends how you look at it. If people love your music so much that they are going out of their way to download it for free more than likely they are willing to pay for tickets to your concerts (where the real money is made).
Good point. But still, in the past, ticket costs + album sales made more money. Did it?
Problem is, "album(s)" as a business isn't viable anymore. It's a business model that's beating a dead horse. After CD Rom, there was DVD's, then Blu-Ray. Napster was born because soundtracks ("music") has become an afterthought, so streaming those tracks are better than nothing. Problem is, the music industry [still] hasn't embraced the model. In the future, all of this won't matter. Streaming is the future for music. As it stands, there isn't a service that has scaled to the music industry's actual market size. If there was, there'd be "Empire XStream" (Like Empire TV show.) There's Apple iTunes store, but that deals with more than just music.
I think music tastes these days are driven by popularity instead of the music itself. Many new artists aren't really great at putting out good content or music, but because of the number of downloads or youtube hits their song has - it inflates the appearance of their overall talent level.
Buying undeserved fame? I've been scared of that myself. So that's why my music lesson forums - I want to be the best!
Not so much "undeserved" as "green." Buying? Absolutely. These days, you can buy LIKES, VIEWS, etc for your video or music. So a singer or band that isn't totally hopeless? But needs a lot of work and honing of their craft? Can become overnight sensations simply by reaching an audience that isn't very music savvy, or buying popularity for their music. So a lot of these acts have talent, it's just that bots, deception, or people who don't have a good ear for music are boosting their profiles. Thus, it can become a mind-trick. The artists eventually come to believe they've already 'arrived.' But in reality, their music needs much more work... and veteran artists or producers won't hesitate to tell them that.
I agree but who can how much more work is needed?
That's the complicated thing here really. In the old days, up and coming bands or musicians had to perform before a panel of industry heavyweights plus retired or veteran artists - before they were signed to a serious deal. Then they could have those important blessings pocketed while starting their music career. That goes a longer way in picking talent than the blessings of thousands of people who "liked" you on youtube or instagram. These days though, it's the exact opposite. You can land a big industry gig, just because your social media following is massive. Compared to someone who might be more genuinely talented, but doesn't have the digital 'weight,' that their competitor does.
But that's sort of elitist isn't it? Who are industry people to judge music? I mean, it's about the buyers.
Well, the key is knowing the standards, but with music lessons (my thing) it might be more apparent than with someone just playing music. I mean, you see the music lessons and they're either highly useful or not.
Anyway "big wigs" haven't always chosen great stuff. Look at Warrant and certain other hair bands. What talent was there? I mean, the stuff is highly generic.
Industry vets aren't always gonna be right, true. But specifically in the pop, rap or RnB genres... you really have to have that 'it factor' in order to sell albums or drive downloads. While music is subjective, and everyone has their specific tastes - there's been some pretty bad artists that have come out in the last 11 years or so. Many attribute that to there not being a solid enough structure like there was years ago. A structure which prevents bad musicians from getting through. However, it seems that the market corrects itself eventually and these artists end up being 'one and dones.' In which their careers are defined by a hit single, in some cases... a very strange obnoxious, hit single. But the debut album itself doesn't debut as well. Or the sophomore album is a flop after a strong freshman album. This is called 'falling off.' Where an artist cannot follow-up a hit with multiple hits, follows up a hit with lower quality music, or the fans in general just get bored and move on. Thus the artist is labeled as disposable. That then calls into question the quality of their music, as many feel 'quality music' is timeless or close to it.
Well, to be honest, look at hair bands like Warrant "She's my cherry pie !! 😀" Please, get real.
OK, that was the 80s, far removed from now.Ha. That song you mentioned gets played in a lot of movies, so that's how I got acquainted with it. Another issue with some of today's music artists though is that they cannot do live shows without heavy background bells and whistles. I think everyone remembers years ago, Ashley Simpson's SNL disaster. Other artists meanwhile sound vastly different, and in some cases inferior live - compared to how they sound in a recording studio where their voices are cleaned up a lot by producers and machines.
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Deleted member 1609
Music downloads aren't really hurting artists much. They are, however, hurting the record companies who use artists to present their case against music downloads even though they have been robbing musicians for generations far more than consumers ever could.
Music downloads have redirected money for artists though. The money that the studios would've bilked these artists out of years ago, is now just used to pay their high-powered promotional/advertising team to get out there and drive those downloads. The thing is, studios are always going to have a superior advertising apparatus and promotional reach... compared to a single artist. Hence why artists who do so well with downloads, are the ones who connect on a deep personal level with their intended audience.
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